The invention relates generally to methods and systems for determining placement of corrosion monitors along piping networks for detecting and monitoring loss of material due to corrosion.
Oil and gas piping networks may be susceptible to corrosion over time. For example, acidic and mineral-laden crude oil is highly corrosive to metals. In extreme cases, a pipe segment may corrode to the point of leaking. Because such leakages may interfere with efficient operation of piping networks, corrosion in pipelines is typically monitored.
Corrosion sensors and/or monitors are used in the detection and monitoring of loss of material, such as the internal surface of a pipeline wall, due to corrosion and/or erosion from interaction between the material and the environment in contact with the material. Some types of corrosion monitors use electrical resistance methods to detect loss of material thickness in the pipe wall due to corrosion. Other types of monitoring methods may involve X-ray or ultrasound evaluation of the thickness of pipe walls. Typically, the monitoring takes place at multiple, discrete locations along a pipe network because the large scale of such networks inhibits global monitoring of corrosion.
However, there is no standard for the selection of the individual monitoring sites along the piping networks. For handheld-type monitors, corrosion is monitored at locations selected by the operator of the device. Generally, these locations are determined by operator intuition. Certain types of electrical resistance corrosion monitors are permanently mounted to individual locations on the pipe. As with the handheld devices, there are no guidelines to determine optimal placement of such monitors.